Annotated 19-14
I think I took point on dialoguing some of this page; notes are spotty, but Syr’Nj’s attempt to articulate the real concern of the moment, and Byron immediately understanding what she means despite her stammering, feels like something I’d do. Maybe Byron’s own awkward speech in panel 4, too. I was definitely more interested than Phil in the various ways people struggle with words. Thanks, childhood speech impediment!
Scene description, though, definitely feels like Phil: With as much ceremony as the wood elves can muster right now, Faereksch’Nj essentially knights Byron, placing a garland of flowers on him as he kneels. The two of them are surrounded by wood elves and Gastonians alike, with Syr’Nj and Fr’Nj standing to one side of Faereksch’Nj. Syr’Nj looks shaky, and Fr’Nj is watching her carefully. The rest of the Gastonian Peace-Makers (sans Gravedust) stand side by side with Byron to receive their honors. One or two of them may have already received their laurels, the wood elf doing the crowning has difficulty reaching the top of Scipio’s head.
Whoever wrote the “flax” bit, Phil noticed its questionable botany and had Byron notice it in a last-minute revision.
Nice to see people working on souping up their weaknesses instead of just covering them up. And no, Flax doesn’t grow on sane/normal trees, but I’ve heard about some places where their version logic is very different with plenty of exceptions, or Chaos logic where there is no actual logic and simply trying to make any sense of it for future use can quickly drive you insane. Had to actually censor a few people’s memories from those places because they wouldn’t/couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I always thought it was Syr’Nj prompting Byron for attempt at delicate politics during the ceremony
I read it the same way. The way the speech balloons are separated vertically gives me the impression that the contents are supposed to be in sequence, or that the characters are talking over each other. That, and it seems almost out of character for Syr’Nj to be stammering even as Byron speaks eloquently(ish). Byron has demonstrated that he can do it, but at this point she was the one that always seemed to know what to say.
Flax comes from plants, so Byron’s metaphor is technically on point here.